By C1 Staff
COOK COUNTY, Ill. — The Cook County Jail is screening inmates for signs of mental illness, including PTSD, so that they might better treat them during their incarceration.
Employees of the facility compare Chiraq, the nickname for Chicago’s urban battlegrounds, to those military veterans see overseas, according to the Chicago Sun Times. They see inmates with missing eyes, missing limbs, or who are disabled from being shot.
Specific questions, like who is the president of the U.S. and whether or not they enjoy the Fourth of July, give them some idea of whether or not the inmate may be suffering from PTSD. Sleep disorders are one symptom.
Elli Petacque Montgomery, the deputy director of the sheriff’s office of Mental Health Policy and Advocacy, presents her evaluations to the Cook County Criminal Court to help judges decide on bond for detainees. She says they give out cards with contact information to detainees who walk out the jail the same day to give them options for help.
Those who don’t leave prison the same day receive a second screening from Cermak Hospital, an independently-run county facility on jail grounds. This screening helps the hospital create treatment plans for those diagnosed with mental illness.
The screenings have been going on for two years, and usually about 35 percent of detainees are found to be suffering from some sort of mental illness.
“The presence of PTSD is extremely significant,” said Cara Smith, executive director of the jail for Sheriff Tom Dart. “It tells you about the trauma that is experienced on the streets throughout our county. When you have experienced the level of violence that most of our population has, the world does not look the same. This colors your whole outlook on life.”